World Cup Viewers Exposed to Junk Food, Alcohol and Gambling Branding Every 7 Seconds, Study Finds
Researchers said junk food and drink branding appeared 576 times per match, with Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Powerade leading the total.
- Football fans were shown a "constant bombardment" of junk food advertisements during the 2026 Fifa World Cup, according to a study by researchers from the University of Bristol and University of Oxford.
- Using an AI tool, researchers analyzed 104 matches across the tournament, detecting 65,722 total junk food and drink advertisements displayed on pitchside boards around stadiums in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
- Coca-Cola led with 21,893 appearances, followed by McDonald's , Powerade , and Lay's , with logos visible for just over 16% of total match time.
- Fifa stated its partners are subject to governance frameworks and cited social impact campaigns including Be Active promoting health. BBC Sport contacted Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and PepsiCo but received no response.
- The study estimated an average of 576 visible ads per match appeared on the international feed, excluding pre-match, half-time, and in-match hydration breaks visible to every viewer worldwide.
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Research suggests that FIFA's commercial model did not sufficiently take into account national laws and cultural norms governing the promotion of products with potentially harmful consequences.
In World Cup games, fans saw an average of nine times a minute advertising for potentially harmful or financially risky offers. Researchers found this out. In some cases, advertising was prohibited in certain countries.
A study has analysed the advertising presence during the World Cup, so the number of hits that fans face during live broadcasts with potentially harmful products is breathtaking.
During the 2026 World Cup, 93,000 advertisements for junk food, alcohol, gambling and speculative products were issued: one every seven seconds
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